Head to Head Comparison: Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) vs. Sberbank of Russia (OTCMKTS:SBRCY)

Sberbank of Russia (OTCMKTS:SBRCY) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Sberbank of Russia has a beta of 1.56, indicating that its stock price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

0.1% of Sberbank of Russia shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Sberbank of Russia pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 163.5%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sberbank of Russia and Ameris Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sberbank of Russia	$49.52 billion	0.06	$16.97 billion	N/A	N/A
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13 billion	4.39	$358.68 million	$5.68	12.69

Sberbank of Russia has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp.

Profitability

This table compares Sberbank of Russia and Ameris Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sberbank of Russia	40.80%	21.45%	2.97%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Sberbank of Russia and Ameris Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sberbank of Russia	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ameris Bancorp	0	1	6	0	2.86

Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.1429, indicating a potential upside of 0.09%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Sberbank of Russia.

Summary

Sberbank of Russia beats Ameris Bancorp on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sberbank of Russia

Sberbank of Russia, together with its subsidiaries, provides corporate and retail banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, corporate clients, and financial institutions. The company offers deposit products; pension accounts; payment, transfer, brokerage, and asset management services; car, housing, education, and consumer loans; mortgages; debit and credit cards, and overdraft service; and refinancing products. It also provides derivative, financial instrument, foreign currency, precious metal, corporate structured, and commodities and securities products, as well as debt and capital markets funding, documentary, and other commission services. In addition, it offers life, property, bank card, accident, liability, trust management, investment and universal life, travel, and mutual investment funds insurance products, as well as individual pension plans and corporate pension programs. Additionally, the company provides business bank accounts, platform for exporters and importers, merchant acquiring and international trading services, and corporate cards for small businesses; and loans, investment products and capital markets services, fund investment services, and banking services for corporate clients. It also provides trade finance, interbank lending, currency risk hedging, and treasury services; deposits, custody services, and electronic trading systems; and settlement and cash collection services to financial institutions. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 11 Regional banks and 14,162 branches in Russia. The company also has operations in 18 countries internationally. Sberbank of Russia was founded in 1841 and is headquartered in Moscow, Russia.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Ameris Bank that provides range of banking services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through five segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, SBA Division, and Premium Finance Division. The company offers commercial and retail checking, regular interest-bearing savings, money market, individual retirement, and certificates of deposit accounts. It also provides commercial real estate, residential real estate mortgage, agricultural, and commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans, including motor vehicle, home improvement, and home equity loans, as well as loans secured by savings accounts and personal credit lines. In addition, the company originates, administers, and services commercial insurance premium loans, equipment finance loans, and small business administration loans. It operates full service domestic banking offices, and mortgage and loan production offices. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.